Matthew 10:40-42 A couple of years ago, I led the Park City congregation through a year-long journey of reading the Bible. It was an exciting opportunity (we’ll be starting that next fall), but it was not without its challenges. For example, I knew that the tough part would be getting people through the book of …
Living Biblically – John Wesley on Scripture Continue Reading »
John 1:14-18, 1 John 1:1-4 When I was at Asbury this summer I had a preaching course, which is something I haven’t had for awhile (can you tell?). There were 19 people in the class, which meant that we heard nineteen sermons in a row over two days. And you thought one a week was …
The Means of Grace: The Language of Faith Continue Reading »
We’ve been talking over the last couple of weeks about the Methodist emphasis on God’s grace. It’s grace that brings into a relationship with God and grace that motivates us to serve. To review, we have talked about how God created us in his image to have a relationship with God and with the vocation …
Christian Perfection: Holiness of Heart and Life Continue Reading »
When I was a teenager, I remember going to several youth camps and conferences where we heard testimonies of people who had been converted to Christianity out of some pretty amazing life experiences. We heard stories of people who were strung out on drugs or who were successful athletes or entertainers who reached the top …
A Chosen People Ephesians 1:3-14 A friend of mine recently sent me a link to a video featuring Jon Stewart of the Daily Show on Comedy Central, where in a piece about the wedding of Chelsea Clinton, who is a Methodist, Stewart said this: JON STEWART “Methodists are like the University of Phoenix of religions. …
A Chosen People: Methodists and Prevenient Grace Continue Reading »
Text: Philippians 3:7-17 One of my all-time favorite movies is “City Slickers” – starring Billy Crystal and Jack Palance. I always like movies that have memorable lines in them and this one has one of the best. If you’re not familiar with this flick, Billy Crystal plays a salesman who is approaching middle age and …
EDITOR'S CORNER: Too bland for our own good?Robin Russell, Sep 1, 2010 via www.umportal.org I think Robin's column is dead on here about the identity crisis in United Methodism. One of my convictions as a Methodist preacher is that our doctrines (and, yes, we have them!) provide a grace-filled, biblically sound, and transformationally-focused framework for …
The Method in Methodism – Why I Preach It… Continue Reading »
This Sunday we celebrate The Lord’s Supper at all three of our worship services, and since we’ve entered into a new sermon series on “The Method in Methodism” I thought it might be helpful to offer a bit of instruction on what “open communion” means for United Methodists. The basic answer is found in our …
One of the things that has been intriguing to me as we moved back to Colorado from Utah is the difference in church cultures. In Utah, of course, the dominant religious culture was the Mormon church, which really affected the whole culture. It was interesting to be in a culture where, as a Protestant Christian, …
Ah, the first few days of a new school year. I don’t know about you but when I was a kid I used to look forward to the first day of school—new books, new teachers, new friends, new opportunities to learn. I just got back from a month of cramming in classes and writing on …
What My Teachers Taught Me – James 3:1-12 Continue Reading »
Ask anyone who has eaten at one of the hundreds of Denver-based Chipotle Grill restaurants around the country and they will likely tell you that he or she is at least a once-a-week, regular customer. Chipotle combines excellent food, using hormone and antibiotic-free meat raised humanely, made-to-order service, and a focused menu into a restaurant …
I stopped by "It's a Grind" this afternoon just to grab a cup of coffee and do a little writing when I noticed a mother and her teenage daughter sitting at a table across from each other with their laptops opened back to back. They were arguing about something I couldn't hear and then alternately …
Scripture: Genesis 12:1-9 It’s interesting that when you move you hear other people’s moving stories. It’s never what you’d call a “fun” experience, but people in this country are pretty used to moving. According to the census bureau, in 2000 the median time people in our country live in one residence is 5.2 years (which …
A Blessing Strategy – First Sunday Sermon at Tri-Lakes Continue Reading »
Been away from the blog for a bit as we’ve been consumed with our move from Park City, UT to Monument, CO. We’re now in our new house and stuff is slowly getting put away. I moved into my new church office today but am waiting on some graciously-donated bookshelves to house my library. Tomorrow …
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